


I'm With You

by cheshireree (shyfoxes)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Ambiguous Illness, Developing Relationship, First Love, Fluff, Friendship, Hospitals, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 08:06:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6321616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyfoxes/pseuds/cheshireree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt Fill: I'm With You.</p><p>There’s a boy in the hospital Kenma’s grandmother is admitted to that’s just itching to leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm With You

On Thursday night Kenma’s mother got a call from a hospital in Miyagi. His grandmother had collapsed. It was a heart attack his grandfather had said. Kenma’s grandpa had just gotten back from getting a few things from a corner store when she’d start complaining about chest pains and he’d dropped the bags to the floor and hurried her into their old little car. Kenma sat quietly on the couch and listened to his mother sniffle into the phone. She had told them they’d be down as quickly as they could come Saturday. His mother sat down next to him, her entire body seemingly deflating under the news. He drew himself up, knees to his chin, and scooted closer to her, unsure of what else to do. His mother rested the side of her head to his and exhaled deeply.

“Thank you, honey,” His mother said. “That makes me feel a bit better.”

He wasn’t sure why it had, but he nodded anyway. He waited until his mother’s breathing had steadied out as she fell asleep and then retrieved a blanket from the hall closet to cover her with. He hadn’t never really been close with his grandparents, but he would be lying if he didn’t say the news hadn’t made him anxious. He slept with his TV on and let the low background noise block out any other thoughts. He woke up briefly to see his mother shuffling into her bedroom before falling back asleep.

“I won’t be able to play on Saturday,” Kenma said to his best friend. “I have to go to Miyagi to visit my grandma in the hospital.”

Kuroo stopped swinging to throw him a frown and a concerned furrow of his eyebrows. Kuroo tugged on Kenma’s sleeve and held his gaze.

“She okay?” Kuroo said. “What about your mom, she doing okay?”

Unsaid was also Kuroo’s “And you? Are you okay?” Though Kuroo hadn’t said it, most likely because Kenma might have just evaded it or said something cryptic, Kenma nodded. Kuroo relaxed and then rocked himself a bit on the swing.

“Well, if you need to talk just call me. I’ll tell my mom so she doesn’t get mad if you call like super late,” Kuroo said.

“Thanks, Kuroo.”

-

They hadn’t bothered to take the train to Miyagi. It was probably because she knew how badly he did around large crowds of people. Instead Kenma’s mother had loaded him into their car early in the morning with a thermos of coffee and a blanket. She strapped him into the front seat still half asleep. Two hours later he awoke to his mother singing along to a song from a boy band on the radio. She had the window rolled down, with the wind blowing back her short hair wildly. She glanced at him and reached for the thermos.

“Here, it’s still warm,” She said.

“Thanks,” He said.

He sipped it quietly and then propped his feet up on the dashboard. He didn’t bother throwing the blanket in the back but he did roll down his window. His fringes slipped in to his mouth and got wet when he tried to take another sip. His mother laughed. She said something about maybe cutting his hair when they got to his grandparents’ house. Kenma scrunching his nose was all the reply she needed to burst out laughing again.

“I’m only teasing, honey,” She said. “There’s some food in the bag at your feet. We’ll eat real food when we arrive.”

Kenma turned the volume up on the radio. He looked over at his mom as he tapped his fingers on the thermos.

“Your song is on mom,” Kenma said.

Kenma wagged his feet in time with the song as his mother sang loudly. People passing them spared funny glances at them. But Kenma kept his eyes strictly to his lap and on his DS. If they didn’t think his mom sang that good then that was their problem.

-

His grandparents’ house hadn’t changed much since he’d last been there when he was 8. He was 12 now, almost 13. Their house was small but considerably bigger than the apartment he and his mother lived in. Kenma’s mother fished out the spare house key she’d always kept and they entered quietly. She exhaled as they kicked off their shoes at the door. Kenma’s mother cracked her back and they deposited their bags in the spare room. It was lucky that it was summer break now. They’d probably be staying for a good while. Though Kenma hoped Kuroo would keep an eye out for the stray he’d been feeding lately. H

“Maybe you should take a nap, mom,”Kenma had said. “You drove four hours straight here.”

“I’m fine,” Kenma’s mom said, barely fighting off a yawn. “I’ll sleep after I see how granny is doing.”

Kenma wasn’t convinced by soon they were loading back up in the car. They refilled the tank and then set back off to the hospital. Years away from Miyagi and it seemed like his mother still remembered every single turn and curve there was as if it never left her. It probably hadn’t.

-

The hospital was colder than Kenma had expected. His hoodie wasn’t that thin, but it wasn’t thick either. He kept close to his mother the whole time as she spoke to a nurse at the front desk. He looked around at the people sleeping in the waiting room chairs, and a pregnant woman hobbling in. It looked too bright with its stark walls and floors. The pictures and fake plants and outdates magazines didn’t make it seem any more comforting or welcoming in the least, to Kenma that was. It anything it felt too artificial like he’d stepped into a dollhouse and everyone was on autopilot. His mother rested a hand to his head and told him to come along. He passed nurses and a few doctors walking in and out of rooms. There was the light sound of hushed conversations and the beeping of machines. One door to a room was open with a curtain pulled part of the way. He saw a prone hand and a woman hunched over the bed with her head in hands. Kenma sped up to fall in line with his mother.

His grandmother’s room was a bit brighter, though. She was just that type of person. Light poured in generously from her window. She was sitting up and patting his grandfather’s hand affectionately. When she spotted Kenma and his mother, she broke into a big smile. Kenma shuffled awkwardly towards them, hands planted at his sides. He let his grandfather ruffle his hair and squeeze his shoulder. He asked a question about how his studies were that Kenma mumbled his answer through. He had to climb up on the bed a bit to hug his grandmother, who squeezed him as hard as she could.

“How are you feeling, mom?” Kenma’s mother said.

His grandmother shrugged, and Kenma wondered if maybe that’s where he got it from. She glanced over at her husband and then at the machines.

“I’m fine. Wouldn’t mind going home for some better food, though,” She said, still smiling.

Kenma’s mother sat down on the side of the bed as Kenma hovered near her. His mother took hold of his grandmother’s hand and stroked it.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” She said.

-

His mother ended up falling asleep in the chair his grandfather had been using. Exhaustion had finally gotten to her, even if she had yawned through a series of protests when she’d finally accepted the chair from her dad and promptly fell asleep. His grandfather laid the spare blanket a nurse had left over her. His grandmother yawned, too, and ended up drifting off, too. Kenma’s grandfather slapped his knees with his hands.

“Think you can watch over them for a bit? I’m going to go bring something back for your mom and me to eat,” He said.

Kenma nodded mutely, hand pressing against his DS in his pocket. He waited until his grandfather had left to take it out. He took a seat in the corner of the room and booted it up. He lasted about ten minutes in the silence before he shut it and rose up. Kenma stretched. He looked over at his mother and grandmother and then poked his head out of the door. He’d just stretch his legs a bit, he reasoned. He wandered down the hallway.

-

“Ow! Natsu, don’t pull so hard,” A boy said.

Kenma stopped. He backtracked and peeked inside the room. A boy about his age was sitting up in a bed too big for him. Beside him a little girl was pulling at his hair. She looked like a miniature copy of him with her bright hair pulled in little pigtails. She was pulling her brother’s hair into pigtails, too, with bright hairclips and ribbons. She puffed her cheeks out and told him to stop moving so much if he didn’t want it to hurt.

“I’m not moving at all!” The boy complained.

But he only crossed his arms anyway and let her continue. Kenma accidentally caught his eye. His brown eyes lit up and he nudged his sister aside a bit. Natsu frowned at him and then looked over his shoulder. She frowned even harder at Kenma.

“Hi!” The boy said. “What’re you doing out there? Is that a DS you have?”

Kenma fumbled over his words, still partially hidden outside the doorway of the boy’s room and overwhelmed by his questions.

“Ah, uhm, yeah,” Kenma said.

The boy linked his arm around his sister’s shoulder and pulled her to lie back so he could see Kenma better. She huffed, but seemed content to be cuddled up next to her brother at least. Kenma hesitantly stepped in with his DS in hand. The boy patted the spare space on the bed near next to him, though his sister eyed him critically. Kenma came in and scooched on slowly. The boy reached over on the side table and took his own DS in hand.

“I’m Hinata Shouyou,” He said. “This is my sister Natsu.”

“Kozume Kenma,” Kenma said, nodding.

Natsu still didn’t seem content to have Kenma there, having crossed her arms and leaned against Hinata indignantly. Hinata pulled her cheek. She pouted even harder up at him.

“Don’t be like that, Natsu,” Hinata said. “Maybe Kenma will let you play with his hair!”

“Uh,”Kenma said.

Natsu looked over at him then, brush in hand. He self-consciously patted it but had told her it was fine, if only to stop her from staring at him for a while. She clambered over between the little space between Hinata’s leg and Kenma to sit behind him. She brushed his hair softly, carding her little fingers through it.

“Be gentle, Natsu,” Hinata warned.

“I will! Stupid Shouyou,” Natsu grumbled.

Kenma sneaked a glance up at Hinata. Up close he looked a lot paler than he had imagined. He had an IV hooked up to his right arm, and a nasal cannula in his nostrils. He had a few bandages on his right arm, probably from injections. His left hand had his name band. Even as small as it was it still seemed too loose on Hinata’s wrist. Kenma did his best not to stare. Hinata seemed like the type of person to be out running and laughing and coming home with minor scrapes on his knees. Yet he looked tired, too, and worn out even with the large smile on his face.

Kenma hadn’t noticed how much time had passed until his mother had wandered in after having looked in each room up the hall gently calling his name. She was waving to Hinata as he was drifting off just as Hinata’s parents came in. Kenma was careful not to hop off the bed until Hinata’s mother had extracted Natsu from his back. Kenma slowly slid off the bed, careful as to not jostle Hinata too much as he fought to stave off sleep. Hinata’s parents smiled freely at the two of them, almost as bright as Hinata. Hinata’s mother resettled Natsu in her arms as she and his mother conversed quietly amongst each other. Hinata’s father went to his side and kissed his forehead.

“K’nma,” Hinata said. “Are you coming back…tomorrow?”

Everyone seemed to be looking at him then. Kenma looked straight down at his feet. He peeked up at his mother from between his fringes when she laid a hand on his shoulder with an encouraging smile. Kenma looked over at Hinata.

“Yeah, I’ll come see you again, tomorrow,” Kenma said. “Right after I see my grandma.”

Hinata smiled then even as his eyes shut. His mumbled I’m glad then got lost as he drifted off. Hinata’s dad beamed at him, strangely tall in comparison to the rest of them in the room. Kenma’s mother put both of her hands on his shoulders and steered him out as they said a quiet goodnight to the Hinatas.

His mother leaned over and down to press an upside down kiss to his forehead. He blinked up at her owlishly.

“You looked like you enjoyed yourself, you know,” She said. “You also still have ribbons in your hair.”

Kenma quickly pulled them out before rocking back to lean against his mother. He made a vague comment about it not being a big deal. They drove home quietly behind his grandfather and settled into bed.

-

“My grandma says hi,” Kenma said.

He wasn’t sure why he had said it, but it seemed like the easiest thing to say when he walked into Hinata’s hospital room. Hinata had paused mid chew to blink at him. Kenma felt uneasiness rise in him until Hinata broke out into a smile. He wiped his mouth with his forearm, jostling the IV tube, and patted his mattress. He looked a little perkier this morning than last, but the big tired bags were still under his eyes.

“Tell her I say hi too when you get the chance!” Hinata said.

“Where’s Natsu?”

“My parents haven’t come yet. But they’ll be here soon.”

Kenma hummed, drawing his legs up under him on the bed. Hinata fished his DS from under his side where he had probably dropped it when he had drifted off to sleep the night prior. Hinata glanced at Kenma with a sheepish look.

“Hey Kenma, what grade are you in?” Hinata asked.

“I’m going to be in my second year of middle school when school starts again,” Kenma said.

“You’re older than me? Oh wow,” Hinata said. “I had to miss a lot of school last year but I’m supposed to be starting my first year of middle school soon!”

Kenma adverted his eyes, unsure of how to proceed. It felt like a touchy topic to speak up on, though Hinata seemed more than willing to tell anyone that would listen. Hinata set his DS down in his lap, looking thoughtfully at his feet under his blanket.

“I really hate it in here,” Hinata muttered. “I wanna go running outside with Natsu.”

“You’ll get out soon though,” Kenma said. He added, “Won’t you?”

Hinata smiled, though it seemed mostly hopeful, “Yeah, really soon.”

-

“Do you know what I’m gonna do once I start middle school?” Hinata said.

Kenma shook his head, though he knew Hinata would have continued on anyway. Hinata fished out a sports magazine from his bag on the other side of the bed and deposited it on Kenma’s lap. It was an issue on volleyball, featuring the back of a player as he jumped to spike a toss.

“Volleyball,” Kenma said.

“Yup! Volleyball. I want to play so bad. I may not be very big, but one day I’ll definitely be, like my dad. But I until then I can still keep up. I can jump!”

“How much have you played?” Kenma asked.

Hinata flushed hotly, twiddling his fingers. “Not much. Barely at all. But I’ll join a club in middle school and change all that!”

“I’m sure you will.”

“Do you play any sports?”

Kenma hesitated, unsure if he should really tell Hinata that he also played volleyball. He had only joined because of Kuroo and because it was a way for him to pass the time until he mother came home from work. She had insisted on it, actually, thinking it would be good for him. Kenma didn’t agree or disagree.

“…Volleyball. Actually,” Kenma said.

“Really? Tell me more!”

It was difficult to get his point across at first, especially because it felt like Hinata’s enthusiasm far outshined his meager interest. But the moment he had brought Kuroo up, it seemed easier. A back thought in his mind had wondered how well Hinata and Kuroo would have gotten along.

-

Hinata, as Kenma discovered, was sickly. He got sick easily. A little cold wind could shake him into a fever and a coughing fit if he wasn’t careful. He’d spent a good amount of his time growing up stuck in hospital rooms with IVs in his arm and his head turned towards his window. Natsu had started packing drawings she did in school for him in his overnight bags.

Hinata was also something of a whiner. It succeeded so far for him in little ways, like getting regular packages of meat buns from his parents, or getting Kenma to lie back against the pillows right next to him. He’d tugged on Kenma’s pant legs, whining about how Kenma was sitting too far from him, what good did it do him to be that far? That he should come closer, closer still, until he’d simply suggested that Kenma come and sit right next to him.

“Natsu usually takes this spot, but since my parents don’t have much time off anymore, she’s at daycare mostly,” He said.

Which led Kenma to his other discovery of Hinata Shouyou; he was physically affectionate by nature. It’d started with the pant-leg tugging, and turned to him gently gripping Kenma’s ankles for attention. He’d been gradual and careful to gauge how much Kenma would tolerate before braving it a little further. Each time Kenma was surprised, but strangely okay with his gestures.

Hinata’s shoulder pressed against his own as he leaned over and showed him something on his DS. Kenma nodded absently. Their hands brushed as Hinata settled even closer to him, if at all possible, almost leaning his head on his shoulder. Kenma wondered why he felt a little disappointed that he didn’t.

-

“There was a player I saw once on my way home,” Hinata had said. “He was incredible. I’d never seen anyone jump so high. There were all these tall guys on the other side of the net blocking him like a giant wall. But he did it; he blasted right through them like it was nothing! I want to be like him. I want to be the ace one day!”

Hinata’s hand had crept out from underneath his blanket to press the pinkies of their hands together. Hinata’s pinky overlapped with his own shyly. Kenma moved his hands so his ring finger and Hinata’s also overlapped.

“I’m sure you will,” Kenma said.

-

On the Wednesday of the following week, on the day that his grandmother was finally discharged from the hospital, Kenma stood awkwardly beside Hinata’s bed. He twisted his hands in his shirt as he looked up at Hinata.

“I’m returning home tomorrow,” Kenma said. “To Tokyo. So I think this might be the last we’ll be seeing each other.”

Hinata’s smile barely reached across his face. Beside him Natsu was sleeping, curled up against his side and tucked under a little animal print blanket that must have been brought from home. Hinata stroked her hair.

“Oh, okay. Can I have your number though? You can still text me!” Hinata said.

Kenma smiled. “I’d like that.”

-

Hinata texted a lot. He peppered his messages with emojis and exclamation points and Kenma could practically feel his enthusiasm even as far away as Miyagi was from Tokyo. He texted him how much he craved his mother’s cooking over hospital food. He sent him pictures of random things like Natsu’s drawings, one of which was supposed to Kenma with big, wobbly characters telling him that she missed him. A lot more were that any day now he would be getting to leave the hospital and all the plans he had for the rest of the summer.  He’d gotten discharged once, but about a week and a half later had to go back. Kuroo had looked over his shoulder one day and huffed in his typical teasing way.

“I thought you were a cat-person, Kenma,” Kuroo had said.

“Hush, Kuroo,” Kenma said. “Where’s my cat by the way?”

Kuroo tossed up the volleyball and made a move to spike it. It landed in his face and dropped into his hands. Kenma looked at him dryly.

“I took him home with me. It was getting too hot outside so I figured he’d do better indoors,” Kuroo said.

Kuroo motioned to Kenma’s phone with his head as he held out the ball for him to take. Kenma put the phone in his pocket and took hold of the ball. He set the ball and watching as Kuroo almost perfectly spiked it over their imaginary net.

“How about that shorty? Has he been discharged?”

“Not yet. But he says he will soon.”

“Summer’s almost over, you know,” Kuroo said. “And I think he told you that same thing last week.”

“He started running a fever again so they kept him a few more days until it broke.”

“You should go visit him the next time your mom has a day off or something,” Kuroo said. “Actually bring me along, too! I want to meet him.”

Kenma scrunched up his nose as Kuroo indignantly asked him what that was supposed to mean.

“You’re kind of an acquired taste. I’m not sure I’d recommend you to other people.”

“Rude!”

-

“Hey, Kenma, how about we go see Shouyou this weekened?” His mother had suggested.

They were washing up the dishes together. She washed and rinsed and he towel dried them off and put them away. He had grown a little over the summer and just about reached her shoulder. She took his silence for questioning.

“Tetsurou told me that Shouyou’s still in the hospital. School’s about to start soon, right? It wouldn’t hurt just to go down there for a day or so before it happens.”

“Can you get the time off to do that, though?” Kenma asked.

His mother pinched his cheek with a wet hand. He grimaced and wiped off the water with his sleeve.

“They owe me a few days actually. So, how about it? Actually, it’s going to be your grandfather’s birthday in a few days, too. Two birds one stone, eh?”

“Yeah, why not.”

She bumped her hip with his as he tried to hide his smile.

-

Hinata looked brighter, was the first thought that popped up into Kenma’s mind. The bags under his eyes weren’t so bad, and his skin wasn’t so sickly pale. The color was returning to his cheeks in a healthy flush. He seemed a little more rested, and he wasn’t wearing his nasal cannula anymore. There was still a chance he’d get sick again not long after he left, but little victories were worth it. He had no IV either, now that he looked a little better.

“Shouyou,” Kenma said.

“Kenma! What’re you doing here?” Hinata said.

“Visiting. You look  well.”

“Mhm! They said I can leave later this evening. They just want to double check before they release me.”

Kenma pushed the paper plate in his hands into Hinata’s. It was left over birthday cake from his grandfather’s party and he told Hinata so. Hinata looked delighted, not even waiting for Kenma to hand him in the spoon his pocket before digging in with his fingers.  He talked around a garbled thank you. Hinata licked off a piece of icing from the corner of his mouth gleefully.

“How long are you here for?” Hinata said.

“Until tomorrow afternoon. Why, what’s up?”

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck, before saying, “Do you mind tossing to me a bit?”

Kenma almost rolled his eyes. He took the plate from Hinata’s hand and dumped it in the nearby trashcan. He could feel Hinata’s big, expectant eyes on his back.

“Sure, where do you live?”

That especially had lit Hinata up and he blabbered on about showing Kenma his room.

-

Hinata’s house was actually not a far walk from the hospital. Kenma briefly wondered if there might have been a reason for that, with Hinata’s health in consideration. He didn’t voice this thought and Hinata didn’t make any mention of it. Hinata took Kenma by the hand and eagerly dragged him down the sidewalk as his duffel bag flapped against his side. He had waved his parents off in getting a drive back home in favor of being able to run there with his own two feet. He had whined that he had been too cooped up to be cooped up any longer. Kenma, and his parents, had pretty much known the argument was done then and there and made no move to dissuade Hinata from his decision. Kenma was just thankful for the short distance.

It was quaint, homey and bright, nothing less than what he would expect from such cheerful people like Hinata and his family. Kenma didn’t have much time to look around before Hinata had dragged him out into his backyard where a volleyball sat against the side of a house and a tire swing tied to a tree branch.

Kenma took up the ball as Hinata kicked off and his shoes and braced himself. Hinata’s legs wobbled a bit, maybe out of excitement or something else. Kenma chose to turn a blind eye and tossed the ball up a couple times to get his bearings. He looked over at Hinata.

“Ready?” Kenma asked.

“Anytime!” Hinata said.

He tossed the ball up towards Hinata. And Hinata – he flew. His legs came up behind him as Hinata poised his arm and hand to smack the ball, eyes fixated on it. Kenma’s mouth fell open a bit as he watched Hinata’s hand coming down and completely missing the ball. Hinata fell back down to the ground on his feet with a groan.

“Again, again, I almost had it!” Hinata said.

Kenma resisted the urge to teasingly tell him that he had missed it by a wide margin as he retrieved the ball. He set the ball up again, watching as Hinata crouched, arms swinging out behind him and he jumped as if he was made for the air. Maybe he was.

-

“I have one more thing to show you before you go home,” Hinata said, suddenly a bit shy and subdued.

Kenma cocked an eyebrow but nodded. He followed Hinata up the stairs and to the second door down the hall. The door with the big pink flowers must have been Natsu’s. Hinata’s was bear save for a drawing of Hinata’s name, along with him and his sister holding hands as a welcome sign.

His room was cluttered, something like an organized mess. Kenma knew because his room was much the same way. Anyone who didn’t stay in there would have just thought it a mess. To Hinata and Kenma everything was in the place it needed to be when it needed to be found, that was good enough. He had volleyball posters, a few drawings of Natsu’s and what looked like an Animal Crossing wall scroll near his desk. His bed was unmade and his curtains wide open. Kenma sat himself on his bed.

Hinata dug into his closet, flipping through his clothes, not finding what he wanted and then flipping through them again. He made a funny noise as he pulled out what he had sought. It was a school uniform, neatly pressed and new. Hinata held it up against his chest proudly.

“I’m going to start middle school this semester! The doctors think I’ll be good to go,” Hinata said.

“That’s great,” Kenma said. “You’ll get to join a volleyball club and everything.”

“I hope I have nice teammates, and a great setter like you,” Hinata said. He flipped the uniform around to face him as he looked over it critically.

“Hmm, maybe,” Kenma said.

Hinata put the uniform away back in his closet. Hinata came to stand before him, one of his hands balled into a loose fist. Hinata rocked on his feet as he bit his lip, something Kenma had come to know as a nervous habit on his part. Hinata quickly took hold of one of Kenma’s hands and deposited something flat and light in it. It felt like - Hinata squeezed his hand to keep it shut.

“I hope we’ll get to see each other again,” Hinata said. “I’m glad I got to meet you. You made being in the hospital a lot better.”

Kenma hung his head and let his fringes hide his face. His hair was long enough that it should shield him from letting Hinata seeing the burning flush that was rising on his cheeks. Kenma squeezed his closed fist a little tighter, very aware of what Hinata had given him.

Hinata’s mother called to them from the bottom of the stairs to tell them that Kenma’s mom had come to pick him up. They lingered in Hinata’s room, not really looking at each other or talking. Then they descended one behind the other towards the front door. Kenma’s mother ruffled Hinata’s hair and told him she hoped his school year would be good to him. Hinata’s mouth stretched into a bright, genuine grin that made Kenma freeze for a moment.

“See you again, Kenma,” Hinata said.

“Yeah, see you again, soon, Shouyou,” Kenma said.

It wasn’t until they’d turned off of Hinata’s street to head down the path to his grandparents’ house that Kenma unfurled his fist. Hinata had given him a button, of which Kenma imagined, would have been the second one from the top that he had nabbed from his school jacket.

-

Three years later, and Kenma had heard that was to be a revival of the Battle of the Garbage Heap between Nekoma and Karasuno. Kuroo, now captain, looked smugly at the prospect, arms crossed across his chest.  His coach had gotten a mischievous twinkle in his eye when Kuroo had addressed their team and told them about the history of their team and what it meant to this age old rivalry between Cats and Crows. Kenma was mildly interested, especially with the way his teammates seemed to be more anxious for the days to run off for the practice match.

Then the day came, and Kuroo ushered them all out to await their rivals. They kept in a lazy line, loudly talking amongst each other. Taketora yawned with his hands in his pockets, muttering something about female managers as Shibayama and Inuoka reminded him of a bet they had made. Kuroo rested an elbow to the top of his head as he said something to Yaku and Kai that Kenma wasn’t particularly paying attention to.

Then a row of black came up in the distance, crossing the courtyard of the school to come and stand before them. Their captain called for them to stand at attention and Kuroo did the same. They regarded each other, and Kenma caught a shock of bright, orange hair that he doubted he’d never forget. Or the smile that always came with it.

“Shouyou?” Kenma said, hesitant.

“Kenma!” Hinata said, stumbling out of line to hug him.

Kuroo bent out from where he stood to smirk at him. Kenma only buried his face in Hinata’s neck and pretended neither his teammates or Hinata’s were watching them curiously.

-

Later, before Karasuno had to load back up to head home, Kenma dragged Hinata into the locker rooms with him. He opened his locker to pull out his uniform he had thrown in there haphazardly. He plucked off a button, second from the top and pressed it into Hinata’s hand. Kenma looked away, eyes trained on the row of lockers as Hinata’s hand curled into his palm. Hinata clutched the hand that held the button and laced the fingers of his other hand with Kenma’s.

“I’ll take this as a promise, too,” Hinata said. “We’ll see each other again. At Interhigh.”

“And after that?” Kenma said, smiling faintly.

“Far after that, too,” Hinata said, grinning in that way that Kenma could best recall.

**Author's Note:**

> Kenma has a single mom here. They never really discuss the parents or families much in Haikyuu, anyway. I think we see Hinata’s mom like super briefly in one panel. In case you didn’t know (though I’m sure you do!) giving the second button from the top on uniforms is often given away to signify being in love with someone. I always mention Kuroo a lot when I write Kenma because their relationship is so important. Google says a trip from Tokyo to Miyagi takes about four and a half hours or so by car. 
> 
> Comments, concerns, critiques, or just headcanons you want to shoot my way. Feel free to request a fic to be put up on A03 if you want, too. My inbox is open.


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